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United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

For Patients

Assistance with healthcare travel costs

Patients on low incomes or receiving benefits may be eligible to receive financial support for travel costs to or from hospital.

The latest Healthcare Travel cost scheme (HTCS), published by the Department of Health in May 2010, lays out the details of how and when financial support is provided to those on low incomes who need to travel to or from an NHS hospital site in order to receive treatment.

Key points are as follows but please read the attached document for full guidance:

• For a journey to be eligible for reimbursement through the HTCS it must:
  
  
  1. Be made for a traditional hospital diagnostic test or treatment for which the patient has been referred by a doctor or dentist
  2. Relate to a separate journey from the appointment where the referral was made
  3. Be for treatment paid for by the NHS, regardless of whether it carried out by an NHS care professional or an independent one
     
• Carers/escorts: Where deemed medically necessary by the patient’s referring consultant, GP or another health care professional involved in the patient’s care, the travelling expenses of an escort may also be claimed as part of the patient’s travel expenses. This applies also for those escorting children under the age of 16.
  
  
• HTCS does not apply in the following cases:
  
  
  1. Transport of patients with a medical need for ambulance transport
  2. Patients being transferred between treatment centres
  3. Patients who discharge themselves from hospital at their own request
  4. Visitors to patients in hospital
  5. Private patients – HTCS support cannot be provided to private patients
  6. Overnight stay costs
  7. Parents requiring overnight stays - The benefits of encouraging parents to stay overnight with their children in hospital are now generally accepted and most children’s departments provide facilities for parents to sleep on the ward. No charge should be made for these facilities

When presenting a claim for support with travel expenses please ensure that you provide proof of entitlement/benefit, for example documentation confirming receipt of income support, job seekers allowance etc.

Travel expenses may be claimed in person from the cashiers offices at Lincoln, Boston and Grantham and from the outpatients department at Louth on the day of travel.

The opening hours are:

Lincoln     - Monday to Thursday 8.30am – 4.30pm
                  Friday 8:30am – 4pm

Boston     - Monday to Friday - 9am -12 noon and 1pm - 4pm

Grantham - Monday to Friday 9am - 12 noon

Louth outpatients - Monday to Friday 8:30am - 5pm

Claims can also be claimed retrospectively by completing the HC5 which is available from the cashiers offices at Lincoln, Boston and Grantham sites and from the outpatients department at Louth. Main reception on the Lincoln and Boston sites also have the HC5 forms available on request.